Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-07-04
book in his teeth or let it fall in the break
ers, but upon what small circumstances
depended what mighty results
PRACTICAL INFERENCE.


fate of Christendom in basket let down
from window on the wall. What you
do, do well. Ifyou make rope make it
strong and true, for you know not how
much may depend on your workmanship.
Ii you fashion q boat let il be waterproof,
for you know not who may sail in ii. Ii
you put Bible in the trunk of your boy
as he goes from home, let it be heard in
your prayers, for it may have mission as
far-reaching as the book which the sailor
carried in his teeth to the Pitcairn beach,
The plainest mans life is an island be-
tween two enthusiastically past rip
pling against his shoulders, eternity to
come touching his brow. The casual, the
accidental, that which merely happened
so, are parts OF a great plan, and the rope
that lets the fugitive apostle from the
Damascus wall is the cable that holds to
its mooring the ship of the Church in the
northeast storm of the centuries.
Again, notice unrecognized and unre-
corded services.
WHO SPUN THAT ROPE?
Who tied it to the basket? Who steadied
the illustrious preacher as he stepped into
it? Who relaxed not q muscle OF the arm
or dismissed an anxious look from his face
until the basket touched the ground and
discharged its magnificent cargo? Not one
of their names has come to US, but there
was no work done that day in Damascus
or in all the earth compared with the i'm
portance of their work. What if they had
in the agitation tied knot that could
slip? What if the sound Of the mob at
the door had led them to say: Paul must
ourselves" No, no! They held the rope,
and in doing so did more for the Christian
Church than any thousand of us will ever
accomplish. But God knows and has made
eternal record of their undertaking. And
they know. How eXultant they must
have felt when they read his letters to the
Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Gala
tans, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy,
to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews,
and when they heard how he walked out
OF prison with the earthquake unlocking
the door for him, and took command of
the Alexandrian corn-ship when the sail
ors were
NEARLY SCARED TO DEATH,
and preached a sermon that nearly shook
Felix off his judgment seat. hear the
men and women who helped him down
through the window and over the wall
talking in private over the matter aud
saving: "How glad ! am that we effected
thst rescue! In coming times others may
get the glory of Psul's work, but no one
shall rob us of the satisfaction of knowing
that we held the rope"
Once for thirty-siX hours we expected
every moment to 20 TO the bottom OF the
ocean. The waves struck through the sky
lights and rushed down into the hold of
the ship and hissed against the boilers. II
was an awful time; but by the blessing Of
God and the faithfulness of the men i'll
charge we came ont of the cyclone and We
arrived at home. Each one before leaving
the ship thanked Captain Andrews. do
not think there was a man or woman that
went off that ship without thanking Cap
tain Andrews, and when years after
heard of his death, / was i'm
PEELED TO write n letter of coincidence to
his family in Liverpool. Everybody rec
ognized the goodness, the courage, the
kindness of Captain Andrews; but il oc-
engineer. He stood away down in the
darkness, amid the kissing furnaces doing
his whole duty. Nobody thanked the en-
yineer, but God recognized his heroism and
his continuance and fidelity, and there
will be Just rs high reward for the en-
gineer who worked out Of sight as for the
Captain who stood on the bridge of the
in the ship, amidst Of the bowling tempest.
There are said to be about
sIXTY-NINE THOUSAND MINISTERS
of religion IN this country. About fifty
thousand warrant came from early homes
which had to struggle for the necessaries
of lie. The sons of rich bankers and
merchants generally become bankers and
merchants. The most of those who be
come ministers are the sons of those who
had terrific struggles 10 get their every
day bread. The collegiate and theo-
| logical education OF that son
took every luxury from the parental table
| for eight years. The other children were
more scantily apparelled. The son at col
lege every little while got bundle from
home. In il were the socks that mother
had knit, sitting up late at night, her sight
not as good as once it was. And there
also were some delicacies from the sisters
hand for the voracious appetite of hungry
student. The father SWING the heavy
cradle through the wheat, the sweat roll
| ing from his chin bedewing every step OF
the way, and then sitting down under the
cherry tree at noon thinking to himself
81 am fearfully tired, but it will pay if
can once see that boy through college, and
if can know that be will be preaching the
Gospel after | am dead" The younger
children want to know why they can't
have this and that as Others do. and the
mother says: ''Be patient, my children,
until your brother graduates, and then you
shall have more luxuries, but we must see
that boy through"
The years 90 by, and the son has been
ordained and is preaching the glorious
Gospel, and a great revival comes, and
souls BY scores and hundreds accept the
Gospel ilom the lips of that young preach
er, and father and mother, quite old now,
are visiting the son at the village parson-
age, and at the close Of a Sabbath Of
mighty blessing, father and mother retire
TO their room, the arm lighting the way
and asking them if he can do anything 10
make them more comfortable, saying If
they want anything in the night Just TO
knock on the wall And then, all alone,
father and mother talk over the gracious
influences Of the day. and sag: well, it
was worth all we went through to educate
that boy. 1t was n hard pull, bat We held
on till the work was done. The world
NAV not know it, Int, mother, we held
the rope didn't we?" And the voice,
tremulous with joyful emotion, responds:
"Yes, father We held the rope. feel my
work is done. Now, Lord, lettest thou thy
servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have
seen thy salvation" "Pshsw" says the
father. Il never felt so much like living
lin nv life as now. want TO ace what
that fellow is going on to do, he has be-
gun 80 we'll"
Something oCenrs 10 me quite personal
TWAS THE YOUSGEST
of large family Of children. Ny parents
were neither rich nor poor; four OF the sons
wanted collegiate education, and four OBJ
tanned 1t, but not without great home
struggle. We never heard the old people